Police warn of possible police impersonator at Volunteer Park

Share this story

SEATTLE -- Seattle Police detectives are warning the public about a possible police impersonator who has been seen at Volunteer Park over the past two weeks.

The first incident happened on Dec. 19 when a man told police he was in the park restroom when he was approached by another man who claimed to be an undercover officer.

The impersonator told the victim he needed to see his wallet and check his driver's license, which the victim allowed. The thief then said he and his "partner" were conducting an undercover operation inside the park, and that the victim would need to stay out of not only Volunteer, but Woodland Park and the Arboretum as well.

It wasn't until the victim was at work the next day when he noticed a credit card was missing and then he returned home to several messages from his bank alerting him to possible fraud activity.

The second incident happened Wednesday -- again in the Volunteer Park restroom. The victim said the impersonator had a gold colored badge on his waistband. Again, the impersonator told the victim that he needed to see ID and then told him to leave the area due to an undercover operation. The victim went to work, then noticed cash was missing from his wallet.

Police only have a generic description of the suspect, but remind everyone if you have doubts about an undercover officer's authenticity, ask for a uniformed officer or supervisor to come to the scene - or just call 911.

Most Popular

When I saw this dramatic cloud to the north, it reminded me of smoke, rising in billows until it hits the jet stream, then it's pulled hundreds of miles east. I had to capture it quickly. Within minutes the effect had faded.

For my girlfriends birthday we had a party at her parents. We knew the nest was there but the owner hadn't seen or heard the osprey for a day or two. He asked me to fly my drone up and see if any was wrong. I flew up and found that there were two eggs inside.